Without further ado, I burst forward with speed incomparable to before. Without fancy I crashed into the carnorite just below its mouth, knocking it back considerably.
I then weaved myself in between the many tongues that were desperately trying to grasp me, but by now I was already too fast for this creature. With not much fanfare I positioned myself directly above the creature's mouth and raised my arm.
The creature's tongues were already homing on to me as the carnorite finally found its 'prey' standing – read floating – still. They coiled around the protecting ki sphere around my body. Electricity harmlessly dancing on top of the sphere.
If Outsiders could have seen me, they would have noticed a liquid gas running up my forearm and enveloping my opened palm as wisps of it floated away like a flame.
The heightened power acquired through Ikari opened a new perspective unlike before. Although Ikari not unlike Oozaru made the ki harder to control, I instinctively forced my ki to pull together into a technique. Not a recreation, but my very own technique.
At my command, the dense ki contracted again and gathered in the center of my palm. The light shone brightly as if I was holding a star in my hand. I felt the ki breach the boundary of being a generic ki blast to a proper technique. The moment it did become the attack I imagined, I struck out.
[Star Cannon]
Pointing the violent energy towards the creature who had hunted us for food. A beam of white light tainted with a stroke of green tore through the numerous tongues obstructing its way. Absolutely obliterating everything it touched as it pummeled through the beast with ease. It continued its way into the ground beneath the ancient tunnels.
I hurriedly canceled the unique technique I just came up with before it could reach the planet's core. If it touched said core, it would be disastrous. I rarely went all out with a technique like this as a casual explosion would be apocalyptic for any planet I trained on. With me not being able to breathe in space, I wasn't willing to tempt fate too much.
With my two and a half years of training as a Saiyan I already had made a lot of headway on how to reduce the affected area of my ki attacks without reducing the destructive power behind it but looking down at the gigantic black hole that extended into depth's unknown, I still had some progress to make it seemed.
For now, I will have to do with reducing the overall energy I put into the attacks. The sudden increase by Ikari increased the difficulty to contain the area of effect as well, but that wasn't a good enough excuse for me.
In the future when I obtain new transformation, reducing the area of effect by just reducing the overall power used wasn't feasible if I wanted to keep using ki attacks against stronger enemies without blowing up the very planet I was standing on.
There had to be a trick on how the Z-Fighters reduced their numerous ki attack's area of effect or else every casual ki blast of any of them would blow up their planet. Kakarot had prevented a universal obliteration in the duration of his fight against Beerus as well, even though he had received a ridiculous power increase.
Either they were all Super Geniuses in the control of ki or there was a knack, which I had yet to discover.
With the carnorite being no more I looked around and found an awed Maxima and a horrified Sazu peeking into the room from a side tunnel.
I ignored them for the ceiling as I attacked it with a generic ki beam. The forcefield was only able to hold back the attack for a few seconds before the attack melted its way through the ground to the surface.
I could have probably pulled an Invincible move and rotate my body so fast I turn into a drill to drill through the ground, but that just sounded too nauseating and unnecessary especially if one had ki at their disposal.
It took a minute or two until I blasted a path from the ancient tunnels all the way to the surface. I looked around and found myself among an old warehouse with several people wearing armor huddled over a table.
They were quickly alerted by my appearance and immediately pointed their axes and spears at me. The tip glowing ominously with bright white light, threatening to burst forth to smoke me.
It surprised me that these seemingly normal guards were comparable to me when I left Arva. I was a low-class Saiyan at that point already. Though I could easily overpower them, I would not cause a scene when I didn't know who they were.
So instead of fighting, I just pulled their weapons out of their hands and gathered them on the ground behind me before enveloping them with my telekinesis. They looked surprised but their attention was quickly captured by the two women that had finally come out of the tunnel I had created.
Maxima unceremonially dropped Sazu on her butt and glanced around before she gave the guards a once over still with the sword in hand.
A smirk formed on her face as she evaluated them with praise in her eyes, "Still some brave men in the palace guard left, it seems."
The guards were dumbfounded for a second before realizing that we were on the same side. They swiftly dropped to their knees and shouted their oath of fealty.
"We should hit the guy that proclaimed himself to be king earlier than late. The more time he has, the more people he will be able to convince to his side." I told the Queen and her guards while gesturing at the table, they had been leaning over before I burst into their hideout.
I hovered the weapons back to the guards which they hesitantly grasped. They didn't seem to fear me, but I could find a level of respect in their eyes. It wasn't surprising after they saw how I was easily able to disarm them.
The captain of the guards whose name I didn't bother to remember told us of a secret tunnel going through an abandoned subway, which would lead them just in front of the castle. We would be able to avoid alarming the men of De'Cine who had been positioned around the city.
De'Cine was someone Maxima had fought against to prove his worthiness for her hand, but because he had lost, she had dismissed him. He then proceeded to seduce Sazu in order to overthrow Maxima, which he had succeeded with his personal bodyguards.
He seemed to be a former general, who was exiled from his planet for some crime or something, but his background or motivation wasn't something I would remember in a week.
We didn't bother to make a too difficult plan. We concluded that as an outsider he would have difficulties consolidating the people of Almerac. We would just overwhelm him with the hundred palace guards and the soldiers of Almerac's army, while Maxima and I would overwhelm De'Cine to get to the bracelet that enabled the wearer to open portals.
With a goal and their Queen spearheading this operation, the guards were exceptionally motivated to capture their castle and apprehend De'Cine and his bodyguards as well as the traitors that enabled him and his goons to bypass the palace defenses.
We swiftly ran through the subway before I blasted a hole into the wall that would lead to the still in-use part of the subway. We ignored the citizens who were surprised by our sudden appearance and headed towards the castle.
And the moment we were confronted with opposition, I just started blasting. Any attacks on us were met with a ki blast of mine. Unexpectedly, their weapons' blasts weren't able to go up against even the most basic ki attack of mine.
I was still juiced up on Ikari and I wouldn't drop out of it until we had won. Holding the transformation was a lot easier than turning it off and on again.
With my transformation still being up, if I sensed correctly only Maxima could contend against me on this planet. In fact, she would pummel me to the ground like Superman would if she was able to realize all of her body's potential, but evidently of our fight and her struggle against the carnorite she couldn't.
Although she was the queen of the – self-proclaimed – greatest warrior race, she had never explored the limits of her capabilities. By her own account, she never saw a reason to. Her opponents were just not worth the time to explore the limits of her own physique.
Honestly, I could see that. It would be as if a Super Saiyan lived among low-class Saiyans. That Super Saiyan would probably see no reason to why he needed to improve even further. Saiyan's were a naturally violent species and lived to fight, which is fueled by their competitiveness.
If a Saiyan was at the top, he had no reason to improve even further if he was so far beyond any other possible competitor.
If every Saiyan had always pushed themselves further regardless of the situation around them, the Saiyan race as a whole would have been a lot more formidable with Super Saiyans being a lot more common. They wouldn't be the thugs of the Freezer Force. In that regard, Kakarot was an outlier in pursuing strength beyond what he already had.
Even Vegeta himself had admitted that Kakarot just had a different drive to him. Vegeta who once had claimed the title as the strongest Saiyan had to have Kakarot as a goal to spurn him on to reach the heights he eventually reached.
Every step our way, I just blasted away the majority of the resistance we were facing. I didn't incapacitate every single enemy, there were just too many scattered around. Besides Almerac's army could take some load off our back by apprehending our enemies.
However, I noticed that there was more resistance than I expected, probably because Maxima appeared to be a shitty leader. She didn't seem to appreciate me when I called her out on it. The only thing I received was a frown and a blank stare forward as if she contemplated on something.
After we entered the palace, Maxima and I ignored the small flies and quickly rushed through the halls of the palace with her guiding us to the throne room in which she suspected the De'Cine to be.
Some of the stronger guards were able to follow along and would engage all the enemy's subordinates to create a path for us and so we didn't have to worry about being stabbed in the back.
Maxima kicked the door to the throne room open and revealed De'Cine enjoying some grapes from scantily clothed women while some of his bodyguards were in the same room to protect him.
Did no one alert him?
The women feeding him quickly left, screaming in panic, while De'Cine ordered his guards to kill us. The remaining palace guards threw themselves against the personal guards of De'Cine. Now we were the ones outnumbered but it was nothing a well-placed ki blast wouldn't be able to deal with.
I raised my hand and fired several ki blasts at the few bodyguards that ganged up on some of the palace guards. With Maxima's and my help, we promptly dwindled down the numbers of our enemies.
Just as it became clear that our victory was at hand, I saw De'Cine run towards the bracelet that was put on a pedestal, no doubt thinking of using it to escape. A ki disc formed above my hand, but before I could throw it a spear tore through the air and impaled De'Cine's thigh.
The spear was driven deep into the ground and held up De'Cine who was screaming his head off as he looked at his impaled leg in pain. The pain he felt made him sweat and his face was now in a constant grimace.
He seemed to consider pulling the spear out as he saw Maxima approaching, but with every movement, a jolt of pain was evidently running through his body as he squirmed around.
I didn't know when or how Sazu arrived this quickly but in the turmoil, she was able to get her hands on the bracelet. She then used it and created a portal near De'Cine's bodyguards, sucking them inside.
I dispersed the ki disc above my hand and used my telekinesis to gather the remaining enemies to throw them inside the portal.
I then pulled the bracelet to me as I ignored the surprised Sazu. It would have taken me weeks to return to earth with a spaceship, so I figured I should just use their little portal and return instantly than take my time.
I turned the bracelet around, but I could only see a few buttons and something akin to a Numpad. I certainly wouldn't be able to operate this, I realized. I could try my luck and just press some buttons, but I was afraid it was more likely to end up in empty space than on earth.
I scanned the room and found Maxima poised above De'Cine. It seemed like she had pushed him to the floor, making him slide down the spear before pointing her sword at him.
When I was looking at the bracelet, she seemed to have said something and was now looking at me confused.
"Aren't you going to stop me?" She asked confused while De'Cine looked pleadingly at me.
"Stop you in killing him? Naw." I looked at the ceiling of the palace as I felt a familiar life force approaching us.
"But you said- Didn't you mean I shouldn't do whatever I wanted even though I was queen?" She asked for confirmation, and I figured we still had time until he arrived.
"Well, it certainly isn't good to do whatever, but as a queen, you should be able to protect your subjects. But he isn't one of yours, is he?
To execute an outsider who wanted to overthrow you, would show the broader galaxy that you aren't to be messed with. However, that wasn't your problem. Your main issue is how you deal with your people.
If you aren't liked by your subjects, they wouldn't stand up for you or even switch sides when they have the chance, as they did now.
You have to rule them in a way that they are content with their life, maybe even happy. If you ignore their plight, it is no wonder you earn the resentment of your people. Be more compassionate and listen to their worries or something. I am no ruler, but I think in times of distress it would be better to have the masses behind your back than be your enemies."
She looked down at De'Cine contemplating on what to do next before looking at Sazu. She then stepped away from him and waved Sazu to her. Sazu approached her before looking at De'Cine with anger.
She kicked the lying man in the face before kneeling in front of her queen, who ordered her to bring De'Cine into their most disgusting prison. Sazu was overjoyed that her queen didn't abandon her before looking at De'Cine with a sadistic smile.
Sazu took several guards with her who proceeded to drag De'Cine away. The moment they were about to leave the throne room, something burst through the roof.
The rev of a bike was quickly followed by a shouting introduction of the Main Man, Lobo. He looked around before jumping in front of guards who were dragging away De'Cine.
He wore a chain around his right forearm like he was Kratos. A blade hook was attached to the end of the chain. After scanning him with a device, he took De'Cine and threw him onto his bike.
The guards wanted to stop him but were quickly told off by Maxima, who had recognized Lobo. His reputation was known in most interstellar civilizations.
He promptly took off after he shouted some things at Maxima and Sazu, no doubt catcalling them. I was a bit torn about letting him go. It wasn't often when one had an immortal sparring partner, but I was already tired, and I wouldn't be able to hold onto Ikari for longer than a minute or two.
I could already feel some of my muscle fibers snapping from the pressure Ikari put on my body. Although it had the same origin as the Oozaru transformation, the consequences of using it were completely different.
It was probably more akin to the Kaio-ken, with how much strain it put the body under.
I let myself relax a bit after I sensed Lobo leaving the planet with De'Cine on his bike. Maxima consoled Sazu who had lost her opportunity to torture her ex-lover, but she didn't linger too long on it and just accepted that De'Cine would get his due by whoever hired the notorious bounty hunter.
I only listened with one ear as I involuntarily slipped out of Ikari and exhaustion hit my body at the same time. Sazu and the guards then went on to imprison the traitors and De'Cine's men, while maxima stood in front of her throne.
"How about you send me back?" I asked as I pushed the bracelet into her hand. I wouldn't be able to figure out how to on my own and Maxima owed me after helping her get her throne back and all that jazz.
"Going back already? What about us?" She asked as she leaned against me while circling a finger on my chest. I only stared at her deadpanned, which caused her to groan in disappointment.
"Fine. I release you of our betrothal. You are free to go." She said before sitting down on her throne, waving me off while pretending to be indifferent. She then pressed on her bracelet and an oval white portal appeared behind me.
"Do you have something I can contact you with?" I said after I thought about something. She was surprised at my question before hurriedly pulling out what looked to be a simple metal rectangle. After she pressed it, the rectangle was divided into four parts and expanded to the corners of a larger screen.
She typed in something on the screen before pushing it into my hand. On the screen were her name and some symbols of what I presumed to be her contact address and another off button. After shutting it down, I put it in my pocket and approached Maxima, who looked joyfully surprised.
I gently caressed her cheek as my other hand pressed on her stomach pushing her into her throne. She seemed almost unable to contain her excitement before her entire body lit up as green lightning danced over her skin.
Thunder Shock Surprise. A Ki technique to stun an opponent. The recreated technique wasn't as effective against stronger opponents as I would have liked it to be, but it was enough for a tired Maxima.
When she tried to contract her muscles, a shock would be sent through her body, tensing every other muscle, effectively preventing her from standing up.
It wouldn't hold on for long but from personal experience I knew, though it wasn't the worst, it was painful. "That's for that cheap shot with the weapon earlier. Now we are eve-"
"Mhm~"
"…"
"~If I knew you were into this type of play, I would have started with this.~ I have some special handcuf- Wait! Darling!"
I decisively fled the scene before it turned even weirder. As soon as I crossed the portal and exited on a familiar construction site, the portal closed.
I sighed out in relief before I noticed Superman with some kind of device scanning the surroundings. It seemed he was pleasantly surprised to see me suddenly appear.
I figured he would investigate the scene. Before I could say something, I felt someone crash into me at terminal velocity.
My feet were dragged through the ground, leaving two trenches behind for a few meters before I stopped my momentum.
I was enveloped by a bone-crushing hug, unsurprisingly by the Supergirl to be. No doubt she had been worried by my sudden kidnapping into a portal that led to who knows where.
Her hug didn't lessen after several moments and if I didn't know better, I would have been convinced that she was determined to never let me breathe.
We stood there for a while as she buried her face in my torso. She loosened her hold on me and looked at me with worry in her gaze. I could see how her eyes jumped between my eyes before her gaze wandered down to my lips.
She bit down on her own lip, and I could pinpoint the moment, she decided to say fuck it.
She didn't let me say a single word as she leaned against me with one hand supporting herself on my chest while the other found itself at the back of my head as she pulled me closer to her. She met me halfway as she stood on tiptoe.
It felt like an eternity as we neared each other. I could hear my heartbeat as if it originated inside my ear. My arm found itself around her waist as I reciprocated the hug. I eyed her naturally pink lips as they glistened in the midday sun.
A simple chaste kiss as we held each other close. Her lips were as soft to the touch as they looked and so incredibly warm. Almost instantly the kiss got more comfortable as I felt the tension that I didn't know I had left my body as we melted into each other, uncaring of our surroundings.
It took us a while until we were willing to let go of each other and only because we wanted to look at each other. When we did, we heard an exaggerated cough from the side.
Awkwardly standing beside us a few meters away was Superman, who at least had the decency to look embarrassed. It wasn't like we completely ignored his presence...
I wasn't surprised when he wanted an explanation of what exactly happened. After recounting my experience with the space warrior queen, the underground prison, and the coup attempt, Kara waved him away and pulled me away from the construction site.
After she and Superman had failed to prevent my kidnapping from the space queen, Superman quickly came up with a solution in a form of an experimental device he got from his scientist friend.
Something about analyzing the space and where the portal lead to, but it didn't seem it showed any success so far.
While Superman was working, she was only able to anxiously wait until her cousin suggested to her to plan the date I was supposed to set up.
For the last hour, she had browsed the surrounding places from entertainment to food to landmarks.
She hugged my arm and dragged me with her as if I would disappear the moment she let go. In the end, we went for a restaurant that had her cousin's approval, especially in terms of value-price ratio that although expensive, was still affordable on the reporter's salary.
We pointedly ignored the stares we got from our enormous appetite, already used to them after our little road trip. After we were done, filled up, and happy, we went to pay. The bill, which Kara was vehemently trying to take over, was split in the end because of her stubbornness.
I couldn't really let her pay the bill in full since she didn't have a job or an allowance to speak off. I was sure she had borrowed the money from Clark. Besides I was loaded for reasons like this.
After a bit of playful bickering, we left the restaurant to the relief of the restaurant's staff, who had indirectly asked us to not visit us again.
I kind of understood where they were coming from. There was me, a hungry Saiyan after a long day and them with their all-you-can-eat-buffet. Not a good combination for any restaurant.
I wasn't surprised since this was a common occurrence, especially with the more expensive restaurants, but I always thought they were making a fuss over a bit of lost money. I mean I barely ate for 3 dozen people.
This was the first time she went to a restaurant with me, and Kara didn't take kindly of their 'unprofessionalism' as she called it. She almost ripped the boss of the restaurant a new one.
After that little debacle, we then went on to the 'Arcade Paradise', which had a variety of games we could play and snacks we could devour.
I had never played these dancing games with the arrows on the ground in my past and found it surprisingly fun, even though I had surely embarrassed myself, especially when a young kid that was around 10 had danced me into the ground. The little kid spent too much time on these games...
We aimlessly wandered around the city for a bit and looked around the famous metropolis until we ended up at the pier. The sun was setting, so we enjoyed the view as we found ourselves on some stones that I carved a bench out of, which I was playfully admonished for by the girl.
We snuggled into each other, warming each other in the cold wind. At one point, I decided to break the blissful silence.